Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands (October 13th 2011) - Each year on October 13th, International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) is celebrated around the world with a goal of raising awareness on Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR), and is a call for singular global action. This year’s theme is “Making Youth Partners for Disaster Risk Reduction”. While natural hazards are on the rise, more and more people also suffer from the related catastrophes, with children among the most traumatized with some 66 million children affected every year.

Young people’s ability to cope with unexpected and painful interruptions to their regular schedules is still not fully developed, hence the need to involve those most at risk in effective risk management is widely acknowledged. Too often a valuable resource is overlooked as children and young persons are viewed just as victims of hazardous event and climate change. Participation in disaster risk reduction and decision making should be encouraged, and the process must begin to define DRR as a wider community issue that requires the participation of all and particularly the most vulnerable.

The spotlight is now being shone on youth as potential disaster risk reduction facilitators. Support and information needed for them to become participants, decision makers and implementers in the DRR process will be provided by the United Nations Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) with the support and cooperation of partners within the ISDR framework. With this in mind, we here in the Turks and Caicos Islands must invest in and involve the youth of this nation in DRR to ensure a safer TCI, and to celebrate IDDR we will, in collaboration with the Department of Youth and the Department of Education, have an art competition for the primary schools, an inter high school disaster management quiz and a youth debate involving members of the youth parliament. Thank You.

Director’s Statement on the occasion of IDDR 2011Department of Disaster Management and EmergenciesMinistry of Home Affairs and Public SafetyTurks and Caicos Islands